Court Remands Grandfather of 6-Yr Old Who Shot Brother

An Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court in the Lower Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region, has remanded Mr. Benjamin Tetteh into police custody for two weeks.

He is expected to reappear in court on 4th May 2018.

This is in relation to Thursday’s tragic incident where a 6-year old accidentally shot his 4-year old younger brother at close range, with a gun belonging to their grandfather Mr. Benjamin Tetteh in Somanya.

Presenting the facts of the case during a hearing presided over by Mr. Frank Dogbe, Police Prosecutor, DSP Yeboah told the court that, Mr. Benjamin Tetteh, who is grandfather to the kids acted negligently by leaving the loaded weapon in his room, which subsequently led to death of his own grand son.

Meanwhile, a psychologist has been contracted to assist parents of the deceased and the 6-year old to recover from the traumatic experience.

6-year old can’t be charged

According to the Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, the laws of the country prevent pre-teens from being prosecuted when they commit criminal offences.

He said the police were instead proceeding with their investigations to ascertain whether the boys’ grandfather played a part in the incident by not properly concealing the weapon from the children.

“Under the laws of Ghana, if a child who is below the age of 12 commits an offence, the law says that they are not available to be tried because they don’t understand the repercussions of their actions,” he told Citi News.

The incident occurred at Somanya in the Lower Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region.

The two boys were reported to have been playing with the gun, which belongs to their grandfather, whilst their parents were out of the house.

The gun is also said to have been unregistered.

According to tenants who live close to the family, they heard a gunshot, and rushed out only to find the deceased child in a pool of blood.

Citi News sources at the Somanya Police said preliminary investigations indicated that the gun was fired at a close range of about three meters, with the deceased sustaining the fatal wound to the head.

The body of the young boy has since been deposited at the Atua Government Hospital.